


The Writing's On The Wall

by frostedgoddess



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Bullying, Fluff, Graffiti, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5491283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedgoddess/pseuds/frostedgoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos writes anonymous messages on a wall and Jay makes a game out of replying to the mysterious street artist.<br/>feat. Awful pickup lines</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Writing's On The Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to magenta_sunrise and Skypan for their lovely, thoughtful comments. I hope you guys dig this. Happy fifth fic to me!

Carlos wasn’t a depressed teenager, but he had grown up to a mantra of _Not Good Enough, Never Good Enough_. Even though he lived in Auradon now it was still hard when Chad had tripped him that day and he’d spilt his dinner all over himself, ruining the entire outfit almost completely. Evie had promised to look at it and Carlos almost knew for sure that Mal would repair it but he was so embarrassed and that wasn’t as quickly solved. God he hated that Charming airhead.

That was the reason that Carlos found himself shaking a red spray can behind the bleachers one afternoon after school was over, he wanted to mar this perfect society, give it a flaw like the flaws he seemed to have endless amounts of. Carlos found a section of wall, smooth painted concrete and began to spray out his message to this world of princesses and princes.

**Life is pointless**

Carlos unzipped his backpack, putting the can of spray paint in and ducked quickly into the tourney locker room bathroom to wash his hand of the miniature specks of red paint from the splashback. At least he was smart enough to make himself look as innocent as possible; as long as no one saw the red paint can in his bag.

Carlos crashed into his bed with a groan, even having worked out his tension behind the bleachers, it had still been rough today and he was ready to fall asleep as soon as he was in his pyjamas, unfortunately Jay had different plans.

“Carlos. Come play video games?”  
“Not today Jay, I really just want to sleep.”  
“Well then could you at least take your…I mean the school dog outside? It’s making noise and won’t let me touch it at all.”  
“Dude is a he, and _he_ probably avoids you because you smell like you haven’t changed from tourney practise…yesterday.”  
“Is that the dog or you?”  
“Both.”

Despite their bickering, Carlos smiled at Jay as he got up and put Dude outside; he used to let Dude stay with him perpetually but after Chad made a nasty comment about Carlos having used his villainy to steal Dude from everyone else, Carlos made sure not to hog the mutt too much, even though it crushed him.

Jay got up and turned off the videogame console, “I’ll turn it off so you can sleep; I’m not tired though so I think I might go.” Jay gestured wildly at the door, Carlos was a little puzzled at that, but he didn’t want to start something by asking Jay where he was headed. If Jay wanted him to know where he was going, he would have told him.

Carlos quickly forgot about his little artistic escapade, he’d released the pressure of acting like his life was as perfect as anyone born in Auradon and now he was ready to continue the charade.  It wasn’t like Carlos didn’t love living in Auradon, but he went from living with his mother, to knowing that he’d never see her again and because everyone else was so well-adjusted, he felt like he had to pretend that he was totally okay with that, that never seeing his mother again was fine.

Only a few days later, Carlos felt the need to expand on his art, it was hard to take in compliments like “You’ve improved so much!” when looking at a score of 85%. He was supposed to be the smart one, Mal was artsy and magic, Evie was stylish and Chemistry captain and Jay was athletic and popular. This was supposed to be his thing.

Without seriously planning anything, Carlos found himself headed to the same wall with a backpack full of paint. He saw that his graffiti had been painted over but as he took his paint cans out of his backpack, he saw a new message drawn onto the beige paint in sharpie.

**All it needs is a little sharpening. I’ve got something with a point you’ll enjoy.**

Under that was a little drawing of a stick figure (wearing a jersey?) holding a pencil with a shiny, sharp lead. The pickup line made Carlos laugh a little as he shook the can, hearing the soothing, familiar rattle and pausing to think of his reply before he wrote it. Eventually he landed on a response too big so got out the paint brush.

**I love the outfit; it would look amazing in a pile on my floor.**

Carlos painted his response carefully, malforming the letters so that it wasn’t easy to tell it was in his handwriting. He didn’t bother washing his hands, just packed away the paint as went back to his dorm room, feeling lighter than air, the excitement of vandalism, combined with the secret yet public messages was so much better than therapy. Once he got back to the dorm rooms, he slid off the backpack with his “art supplies” inside and pushed it under his bed, not wanting Jay to ask about his midnight excursions to the tourney field. Then he happily joined Jay in playing a few rounds some video game that involved fighting people, which was just as helpful in blowing off steam as the graffiti, Carlos wasn’t entirely sure of the objective of the game though.

“Carlos. You’ll never guess.” Jay said conversationally, halfway through the game.  
“You failed maths again?”  
“Shut up. I’ve totally almost got a date.”  
“I could have totally guessed that. And what do you mean ‘totally almost’?” Carlos said, even though he couldn’t have guessed that, Jay never dated anyone. Carlos felt his heart sink a little.  
“You know how I got detention for a week?”  
“What? No. What did you do?” Carlos asked, rather innocently, but Jay suddenly looked really uncomfortable.  
“I decked Chad.” Carlos paused the level so he could stare openly at his friend.  
“Jay? What the hell? When did this happen?” Carlos swore he could see a blush spreading gently across Jay’s cheekbones.  
“Well I really wasn’t a huge fan of the way he spilled food all over you a few days back, neither was Mal or Evie. Mal wanted to curse him but she’d have been sent back to the Isle for that, so we decided I should take one for the team and punch him. I broke his nose.”  Jay sounded a little bashful, but considering he’d planed it, he didn’t sound regretful at all.

Carlos completely forgot the thing about dating at that point. His friends had stood up for him. He’d missed it because as soon as he had been covered in his food, Carlos had run away.  
“I’m so mad that I missed that.”  
“If he continues to target you, then that won’t be the only time I hit him. Maybe next time you’ll get to see it.” Carlos leaped at Jay, hugging him quickly before pulling away so it wouldn’t be weird.  
“Thank you Jay.” Carlos said sincerely, Jay coughed after a few seconds of quiet and continued with their conversation.  
“Anyway, so my detention is to paint around the tourney field, touch up where it’s chipping and scuffed, and someone is painting me messages.” Jay made it sound as if the two of them had actually been talking, instead of just using pickup lines on each other. Carlos opened his mouth, unsure if he should say something.

“And you think they’ll date you?” Jay wasn’t wrong but Carlos wasn’t sure if Jay would want to date him. He may have liked both genders, but would Jay want Carlos?  
“Well hopefully, I can just tell from the messages that he’s tall, probably tanned.” Wrong and wrong, but Jay knew that it was a guy at least. Carlos wasn’t sure as to what his reaction would have been if Jay thought he was female.

“Well I hope it’s a guy you like then. Someone you know at least?” Carlos felt almost sick with his anxiety over this, sure he’d had a low-key crush on Jay since forever ago, but he’d been so used to ‘knowing’ that his feelings would never be reciprocated that he’d all but given up hope.  The knowledge that Jay liked him, any version of him was so amazing that Carlos felt like a tiny fire had been started in his chest, warming him down to his toes, even though the weather started to grow cold.

Carlos couldn’t tell Jay, he would at some point but right now he didn’t want to burst that bubble. He wanted to feel desirable.

Carlos ducked out early after dinner the very next day to go see the wall. This time, nothing bad even happened, Carlos was just anxious to go see if Jay had responded to the corny line Carlos had left for him, so in high spirits, he waved Jay goodbye and left his friend alone in their shared room.

The wall was shining in the light from the tourney field floodlights, once again having been repainted since last night, Carlos felt kind of sorry for giving Jay more work, but it wasn’t like Jay didn’t love this. This time the sharpie message was a lot bigger.

**Hey, I lost my number, could I borrow yours?**

Suddenly feeling terrifically bold, Carlos’ hands shaking slightly from adrenaline as he got out the red paint and brush, Carlos knew what to write in response.

**Maybe, is your ass as smooth as your pickup lines?**

It wasn’t like the two of them could ever meet; Jay thought he was developing a relationship with some tall, tanned guy, not his best friend. Carlos ran his pale fingers through his hair as he lamented his height, and the fact that – despite being pretty attractive – his looks couldn’t even touch his friends’, who all looked as though they had wandered straight out of a grunge fashion magazine. His appearance was why not many people saw him as a potential love interest, not when surrounded with actual human perfection.

He met Jay headed back out as he was going back to the dorm, thankfully it was when the two boys crossed in the hallway, so Carlos’ departure location was more ambiguous, he would have to be more careful going forward.

“– And I know for sure that he’s smart as hell, he’s always got a reply.”  Carlos sighed and rolled over in his bed, it had been lights out for almost half an hour but Jay just wouldn’t shut up.  
“Just go ahead then and propose already! But some of us – me – are trying to sleep.”  
“Sorry Carlos, I guess I’m just a little over excited, I mean, I wonder who it is. Clearly no one in a relationship, so that rules some people out, but he’s cooler than the rest of the preppies around these parts. Cool Auradonians…those are rare.”  
 I hope it all pans out for you man, the thief and the vagrant. Match made in heaven.” That was when Carlos began to feel guilty; he had to stop the game soon, before anyone got hurt. If Jay thought Carlos was doing this to purposely prank and mock him, he would be crushed.

But of course, the next day, right after Carlos’ resolution to quit sending Jay those messages, Chad shows up during the one class he has alone.

“Hey, if it isn’t the LVP, least valuable player.”  Chad sneered, punching Carlos in the shoulder repeatedly until Carlos knew it was going to bruise.  
“Just leave me alone, Chad, how many new noses are you going to need before you learn to keep them out of my business.” Carlos snapped back.  
“You think your little boyfriend is going to stop me? He’s still in detention from last time.”  
Carlos purposefully ignored the ‘boyfriend’ comment and just rolled his eyes.  
“I didn’t ask Jay to do that; can you just leave me alone?” Carlos asked pleadingly.  
Chad looked as though he was about to retaliate violently, but the teacher called out to Chad and made him realise that they were now the focus of attention. Little Carlos sitting there with big hulking Chad leaning over him? Instantly it looked iffy, especially after the altercation at the beginning of the week.  
Chad got up and stalked away, but the threat of violence was there and Carlos just didn’t feel safe. So he turned to the only thing that he could guarantee would help him feel better. Graffiti. Jay’s reply was written just above eye height, about where Jay’s eye line would fall.

**Well, I’m not an organ donor but I’ll give you my heart. Meet you @ 8?**

Eight pm? Jay wanted to meet him, here? At eight. What time was it now? He took out his phone to check and felt his blood run cold as he saw the time; 7:49. There was still a little bit of time but Carlos had to run. Without even putting his paint in his bag, Carlos spun around in preparation to flee and crashed right into Jay’s leather-clad torso.

“Carlos? What are you doing–” Jay’s eyes caught on the red paint and brush in Carlos’ hand. “Carlos?” Jay’s eyes seemed to light up. “So it _was_ you. This whole time.” Carlos blinked up at his roommate, that comment sounded a lot more like a confirmation than a surprised accusation. “You knew?” Jay smiled and nodded. “Well after you came home with red paint that second time I suspected. So I checked in your ‘sneaking around’ backpack, the one you hide under your bed, and saw the exact same paint the mystery guy used. Besides, no other guys here are into graffiti, or doing anything other than their own hair. So I mentioned it to you because I thought you would say something.”

Carlos stepped back, away from Jay, his hands shaking. “I’m sorry it wasn’t the tall, tanned guy of your dreams.” Carlos apologised, trying to make a joke but his voice came out weak and thin.

“Tall? Nope.” Jay said, Carlos still wasn’t sure why Jay looked so amused, as if there was some joke and the punchline would come in at any second now.  
“Tanned?” Jay looked appraisingly up and down Carlos’ frame. “Definitely not.”  
Carlos tried to back up further but his backpack slammed into the wall they had been writing on and Jay was closing in.  
“Guy of my dreams?” The intervening silence was killing Carlos.  
“Jay. I get it, I’m not-”  
“Actually, Carlos, if you would let me finish a sentence, you are.”  
“What?” Carlos asked dryly, voice cracking.

Jay wrapped an arm around Carlos’ shoulder and began to walk the both of them back to their room.  
“Well yeah, why do you think I make coach put you on the field for every game?”  
“But you never let me help you with school, even in the subjects I’m top of the school at.”  
“That’s because I don’t want you to think that I’m stupid.”  
“Jay, I wouldn’t think that.”  
“That’s because you’re too kind. And smart, and straight up gorgeous.”  
“So, you knew it was me when you wrote the message about giving me your heart?”  
“Well yeah, duh, it’s yours…you know if you want it.”  
“Look at the ex-thief, just giving stuff away now.” Carlos said brightly, opening their bedroom door and going inside ahead of Jay.  
“I still must be a pretty good thief if I’ve stolen your heart.”  
“Keep it. I’ve got yours.” Carlos replied, climbing onto Jay’s bed and shedding his trademark leather and fur jacket and black backpack onto the ground.

Suddenly, Jay stopped still, looking in horror at Carlos' arm. Damn, sleeveless shirt. Carlos looked down at where Chad had been punching him and even he was surprised at the angry red and purple bruise blossoming across the skin of his upper arm.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Jay’s face was thunderous, as he turned around and made for the door.  
“Jay! Don’t!” Carlos hopped off the bed and grabbed onto Jay’s wrist, trying to pull him back towards the centre of the room.  
“He hurt you again, it’s getting worse, I’m not going to let him to get away with injuring you.”  
“Jay. We can fix it all tomorrow, just stay, please?”  
“Carlos, that’s gotta hurt.” The de Vil boy latched onto that, nodding.  
“ _Yeah_ , it hurts a lot, so why don’t you stay here and look after me.”  
“Look after you?” Jay looked sceptical at that.  
“I promise it will be way more fun than punching Chad repeatedly in the face.”  
Carlos batted his lashes, completely unsure how else he was going to convince Jay not to leave. “Besides, if you get back in detention then that is less time for us to spend together.”

“Get back on my bed.” Jay said lightly, a new kind of passion burning in his dark eyes as Carlos scrambled up onto the bed.  “How is it that you’re so hot and you don’t even know?” Jay asked, voice sounding gravelly.

“Now, Jay? Are you going to come and kiss the hell out of me, or am I going to have to lie to my diary?”  Carlos managed to say with a straight face.  
At this cheesy line, Jay couldn’t stop himself from laughing, a deep belly laugh that shook his frame and made Carlos chuckle under his breath. Eventually the laughter subsided and he climbed onto the double bed next to Carlos, “I’ve literally never seen anything look as delicious as you, including those little chocolates you like, the ones that have nuts inside?”

Carlos nodded and blushed, taking a deep breath to help regain his composure. Unfortunately he just inhaled air that smelt like Jay’s shampoo, clean and sweet, and he didn’t feel any steadier.  “Well Jay, if you think I look delicious, then maybe you should dive in and have a taste.”

“You’re going to be insatiable aren’t you, babe?” Jay said, reaching across the bed to place a hand on Carlos’ cheek with a smile. Then the sports star shuffled across the bed to press a kiss to Carlos’ perfect mouth.

Carlos was the one to open his mouth first, slipping his tongue across Jay’s lips and moaning shamelessly when they slid open. The smaller boy slid his hands up to fist in Jay’s hair, pulling them closer together. The kiss was messy and wet but perfect; Carlos slid one leg in between Jay’s thighs, rocking upwards.

“Careful there kitten, we don’t want you starting anything you can’t finish.” Carlos glared a little at the nickname, he was a dog person but the sentiment behind the comment was something Carlos could completely get on board with. “Jay bird, I won’t have a single promise finishing anything.” The larger boy groaned at that.

The next morning, the result of Chad’s bullying wasn’t the only bruise left on Carlos’ skin

**Author's Note:**

> Please kudos if you have the time and all comments make my day!


End file.
